Time Traveling Bunnies:gunga galunga: And I don't recall ever seeing Hammond's Clinton, but I have no doubt he knocked it out of the park.

I know it's sacrilege to not consider Hartman the best at any part, but Hammond destroyed the Clinton impersonation. The monologue he delivered after the impeachment was hysterical. I wish I could find it. It was talking about his signature thumbs up and lip bite.

After that I kind of forgot about the times that Hartman ran into a Macdonald's with secret service agents.

hartman at mcdonalds is always the sketch that pops in my head when i think of his clinton

Jonathan Hohensee:1. Saturday Night Live was funniest right around the age you where 11. This actually isn't because the show was cool, but because your adrenaline high you get from being a 11-year-old staying up past 11:30 makes all of your senses heightened. SNL humor is geared toward an 11 year old's mentality and maturity level.

Balchinian:Jonathan Hohensee: 1. Saturday Night Live was funniest right around the age you where 11. This actually isn't because the show was cool, but because your adrenaline high you get from being a 11-year-old staying up past 11:30 makes all of your senses heightened. SNL humor is geared toward an 11 year old's mentality and maturity level.

Fixed.

perhaps my mind is that of an 11 year old. last week's episode (12/10/11) had me SCREAMING with laughter for about 1/3 of the show, laughing heavily for about another 1/3...and the 1/3 "meh" was still quite funny. this week (12/17) was only about 1/2 good, though

bungle_jr:Time Traveling Bunnies: chimp_ninja: Apparently, they rehearse Stefon with one set of jokes, but they throw new stuff on the cue cards during the live take, so it's Hader's first time seeing them.

Okay, what is this Stefon business? I absolutely love Hader and good improv so if this mixes the two, color me intrigued.

guess that explains why it's the ONLY time i ever see hader crack up on camera. stefon is one of the best things on that show these days...it's GOLD jerry...GOLD!

TXEric:bungle_jr: Time Traveling Bunnies: chimp_ninja: Apparently, they rehearse Stefon with one set of jokes, but they throw new stuff on the cue cards during the live take, so it's Hader's first time seeing them.

Okay, what is this Stefon business? I absolutely love Hader and good improv so if this mixes the two, color me intrigued.

guess that explains why it's the ONLY time i ever see hader crack up on camera. stefon is one of the best things on that show these days...it's GOLD jerry...GOLD!

This X 10.

this x 100!

i really love when his voice completely changes for the name of a club

bungle_jr:Time Traveling Bunnies: gunga galunga: And I don't recall ever seeing Hammond's Clinton, but I have no doubt he knocked it out of the park.

I know it's sacrilege to not consider Hartman the best at any part, but Hammond destroyed the Clinton impersonation. The monologue he delivered after the impeachment was hysterical. I wish I could find it. It was talking about his signature thumbs up and lip bite.

After that I kind of forgot about the times that Hartman ran into a Macdonald's with secret service agents.

hartman at mcdonalds is always the sketch that pops in my head when i think of his clinton

I think hartman was funnier as Clinton but Hammond was more of a better actual impression. That said Hammond was awesome at impressions. I think I read somewhere that there were a few times where the announcer Don Pardo was sick, and they just got Daryl Hammond to do the announcement of the cast the star and the musical guest over the opening credits in a Don Pardo voice.

Time Traveling Bunnies:chimp_ninja: Apparently, they rehearse Stefon with one set of jokes, but they throw new stuff on the cue cards during the live take, so it's Hader's first time seeing them.

Okay, what is this Stefon business? I absolutely love Hader and good improv so if this mixes the two, color me intrigued.

Basically, Bill Hader plays an absolutely fabulous gay man who is giving advice on where tourists to New York should go during weekend update. The problem is he keeps giving these completely underground clubs as advice instead of usable locations.

ShawnDoc:Every generation thinks the current SNL cast sucks, and that whoever the cast was when they first started watching it was one of the best casts. Simply a combination of nostalgia, only remembering the good sketches, and maturing/evolving taste in comedy as you age.

This. Precisely why I have the entirety of Wayne's World 1 & 2 memorized, and a Ladies Man DVD sitting in my apartment as we speak.

Tourney3p0:Wiig is okay in her standalone sketches, but they seem to choose the absolute worst ones to beat into the ground.

The "Don't Make Me Sing" lady is the most frustrating current skit running. It's a lot of buildup and no payoff. Most of the problem I have with the writing on SNL is that they let jokes go on for far too long. A good two minute joke will get stretched and then it turns into a bad four minute joke and then I hate it.

meyerkev:Basically, Bill Hader plays an absolutely fabulous gay man who is giving advice on where tourists to New York should go during weekend update. The problem is he keeps giving these completely underground clubs as advice instead of usable locations.

Link (new window)

Thanks! I'm at work so I could only watch a minute of it, but I can't wait to finish it. It looks incredible.

mitchcumstein1: He does impressions, that's it. He does them well, but how many sketches a week call for Jay-Z or Denzel, or Will Smith?

Di Atribe: Honestly, that's all we've seen him do. How do any of us know that that's all he can do?

Well what the hell are we supposed to base our opinions on? Rumors and innuendo about what he's capable of? Pharoah does do dead-on impressions, but apparently only of black guys, which is pretty limiting. Shoot, the best Elvis impression I've ever heard was Eddie Murphy.

bungle_jr:Time Traveling Bunnies: chimp_ninja: Apparently, they rehearse Stefon with one set of jokes, but they throw new stuff on the cue cards during the live take, so it's Hader's first time seeing them.

Okay, what is this Stefon business? I absolutely love Hader and good improv so if this mixes the two, color me intrigued.

guess that explains why it's the ONLY time i ever see hader crack up on camera. stefon is one of the best things on that show these days...it's GOLD jerry...GOLD!

Barricaded Gunman:Well what the hell are we supposed to base our opinions on? Rumors and innuendo about what he's capable of? Pharoah does do dead-on impressions, but apparently only of black guys, which is pretty limiting. Shoot, the best Elvis impression I've ever heard was Eddie Murphy.

You could go to youtube and put his name in and see about 20 different videos.

Pharoah is still only a "Featured Player" and Lorne Michaels is big on earning of stripes. You don't hand a guaranteed on-screen slot to the new guy just because he'd be great at it, especially when a Repertory Player currently has the gig. If Armisen quits after this season to play the drums or whatever the hell it is he does, expect Pharoah to get the bump.

Jonathan Hohensee:1. Saturday Night Live was funniest right around the age you where 11. This actually isn't because the show was cool, but because your adrenaline high you get from being a 11-year-old staying up past 11:30 makes all of your senses heightened.2. 99% of the episodes of Saturday Night Live you have seen where in syndication, where they cut out a half hour of the shiatty oh-shiat-I-can't-think-of-an-ending filler sketches

THEREFORE

Current SNL isn't that bad.

I would agree with you most of the time, but there are stretches that SNL goes through when the talent pool is thin or didn't work well together. My theory is when the show gets good, all the stars get signed on to bigger projects en masse. E.g. Aykroyd / Murray / Belushi, Mike Myers / Dana Carvey, Chris Farley / David Spade. Then you're left with a vacuum of young untried talent who don't know what works yet, and you end up with periods when Tim Meadows is your biggest star.

mitchcumstein1:It's time. You don't remember the shiatty sketches from the 70s and 80s because, well, they were shiatty. You only remember the good ones, so you remember them all being good, but in all actuality it was probably closer to the ratio of good to shiatty sketches they have now.

After rewatching the first 5 seasons on DVD I'd go along with that. Not every show was hosted by Steve Martin/Buck Henry, or featured The Rolling Stones/Grateful Dead. Also, those first 5 years were basically written by people on drugs, to be watched by people on drugs. Which was new and exciting at the time. But topical stoner humor from the 70's doesn't really hold up well 35 years later

Arkanaut:Jonathan Hohensee: 1. Saturday Night Live was funniest right around the age you where 11. This actually isn't because the show was cool, but because your adrenaline high you get from being a 11-year-old staying up past 11:30 makes all of your senses heightened.2. 99% of the episodes of Saturday Night Live you have seen where in syndication, where they cut out a half hour of the shiatty oh-shiat-I-can't-think-of-an-ending filler sketches

THEREFORE

Current SNL isn't that bad.

I would agree with you most of the time, but there are stretches that SNL goes through when the talent pool is thin or didn't work well together. My theory is when the show gets good, all the stars get signed on to bigger projects en masse. E.g. Aykroyd / Murray / Belushi, Mike Myers / Dana Carvey, Chris Farley / David Spade. Then you're left with a vacuum of young untried talent who don't know what works yet, and you end up with periods when Tim Meadows is your biggest star.

Good lord, I've been sitting here trying to think of his name. He and Jimmy Fallon actually make me angry with how not funny they are. I remember the one time I laughed at Jimmy Fallon and that was during cowbell and I'm pretty sure I was just drunk off Christopher Walken and Will Ferrell.

mitchcumstein1: You could go to youtube and put his name in and see about 20 different videos.

I suppose I could do that, but I'm talking about watching SNL here, not digging deeper into the archives to discuss why Jay Pharoah deserves more airtime. I'm sure Finesse Mitchell and Charles Rocket had their moments, too, but I'm basing my opinions on the subject material I've been given.

Barricaded Gunman:mitchcumstein1: You could go to youtube and put his name in and see about 20 different videos.

I suppose I could do that, but I'm talking about watching SNL here, not digging deeper into the archives to discuss why Jay Pharoah deserves more airtime. I'm sure Finesse Mitchell and Charles Rocket had their moments, too, but I'm basing my opinions on the subject material I've been given.

He's been on the show for a season and a half, the ONLY thing he's done is impressions, which is what he's known for, and what his act is. That would lead me to believe it's really the only thing he can do. Which is great, but isn't going to get you on the show very often.